November 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



47 



Mexico (Contd.): 



in the fleet and catch will produce any appreci- 

 able tuna surplus for export. Two products 

 capable of larger export --and whose produc- 

 tion the Mexican industry is trying to in- 

 crease --are spiny lobsters and frozen fish 

 fillets. (Fisheries Attache, U, S. Embassy, 

 Mexico, D. F., August 20, 1966.) 



ENSENADA'S FISHERMEN ARE 

 HAVING GOOD YEAR 



Ensenada, center of Baja California's fish- 

 ing industry, is having a successful year. Baja 

 California is Mexico's third largest fish-pro- 

 ducing state by value and first by volume. 

 The poor first quarter of 1966 for Ensenada's 

 fishermen was followed by an excellent sec- 

 ond quarter that insures a successful 1966. 



Ensenada has the largest fish cannery in 

 Mexico. During first-half 1966, it increased 

 its production capability by 25 percent; it 

 planned further increases during the second 

 half as domestic and foreign demand con- 

 tinued to exceed production. 



The spiny lobster catch for the season 

 that ended in March was excellent. Pros- 

 pects for next season appear to be even bet- 

 ter due to the continuing introduction of more 

 efficient production methods and closer sur- 

 veillance to prohibit illegal catches during 

 the off-season. Several United States com- 

 panies have already begun bidding for the 

 1966/67 catch at prices averaging US$.09 a 

 pound higher than last year. 



An Ensenada group has been considering 

 entering the high-seas fishing business. The 

 possibility of Yugoslavia providing 5 vessels 

 was discussed with a Yugoslav trade mission. 

 The Mexican Federal Government is report- 

 edly ready to allocate 75,000,000 pesos 

 (US$6,000,000) to buy fishing vessels. (Unit- 

 ed States Consulate, Tijuana.) 



MAZATLAN HAS SHIPBOARD FISH PLANT 



A Mazatlan boat owner is highly pleased 

 with his trial installation of a miniature fish 

 meal plant aboard a former shrimp trawler. 

 The plant, of Mexican design, is both simple 

 and lightweight. It weighs about if tons and 



is mounted on deck. It consists essentially 

 of a grinder and hot-air dryer with an auxili- 

 ary diesel engine. The fish are tossed into a 

 hopper leading into the grinder. Within a few 

 seconds, the ground fish is passed in front of 

 a hot-air blast and carried by a blower to 

 sacks. The regular fishing crew can operate 

 the plant. 



On a 24 -hour basis, with a continual flow 

 of raw fish, the plant can handle 20 metric 

 tons. Under present working conditions, the 

 plant processes up to 15 tons of raw fish in a 

 20 -hour day. One ton of meal is recovered 

 per 5 tons of raw fish and usual production is 

 3 tons per day. 



In September 1966, the shipboard plant was 

 handling sea catfish (bagre) almost entirely. 

 Although this fish is rather dry, the plant was 

 able to recover about 5 percent oil. The meal 

 was 61 percent protein- -comparing rather fav- 

 orably with the 65 to 70 percent of the top- 

 grade Peruvian anchovy meal with which it 

 will have to compete. Because Mazatlan's 

 climate is humid, the meal must be runthrough 

 the dryer twice to reduce it to .moisture con- 

 tent of 7 or 8 percent. The second drying was 

 being done aboardship, but the owner planned 

 to install an auxiliary dryer in his shrimp - 

 freezing plant to eliminate the extra ship- 

 board work. 



As the fish go directly from trawl nets to 

 hopper, they are extremely fresh; in fact some 

 of the sea catfish are still alive. So there is 

 no toxicity problem. Ten-day trips are usual 

 because the vessel has a carrying capacity of 

 30 tons of meal. 



The operator has so far produced about 

 100 metric tons of fish meal and has not tried 

 to sell any. The crew will share in the sales 

 proceeds, whatever the price will be; mean- 

 while, it is being paid on the basis of esti- 

 mated price. Whether this operation becomes 

 a financial success remains uncertain. 



Another shipboard installation was re- 

 ported ready to operate at Mazatlan. That 

 vessel will not fish, but it will circulate 

 among the shrimp fleet to pick up scrap fish 

 caught incidentally with the shrimp. The 

 plant itself is said to be larger and it is 

 aboard a larger vessel. (U. S, Embassy, 

 Mexico, September 10, 1966.) 



